Kentucky basketball's iconic denim uniforms will return in February

Kentucky basketball gifted Big Blue Nation a special holiday gift on Christmas Day. Bright and early at 7 a.m. ET, UK announced on social media teasing the return of the 1996 denim uniforms with a picture including the date of Feb. 7, which is when the Wildcats will take on rival Tennessee inside Rupp Arena. Mark Pope himself wore these uniforms as he and the Wildcats captured a National Championship in '96.

🎁 How about this for a Christmas gift 😼#GoBigBlue x @Nike x @nikebasketball pic.twitter.com/mlDsp6Zdbn
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 25, 2025

These edition of a throwback uniforms look very similar, but have a tweak to it, as you can tell in the social media post. Since Mark Pope took over as the Kentucky head coach, along with jumping through some hurdles to make playing against his former Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino, UK has had playing in the denim uniforms on the bucket list, too, but this took some work to get done, as they had to get made. Instead of the original Converse uniforms worn back in 1996, the ones Kentucky fans will see against Tennessee are owned by Nike, but it will still have that same nostalgic feel to it.

Denim has been a huge hit since Pope, the captain of that '96 National Championship squad, took over the head coaching job in Lexington. Fans have been hungry to see it return ever since his introductory press conference in April 2024, when Pope took a picture with his own Kentucky jersey, instead of a new one. It's been a huge hit among fans. Even Devin Booker released a denim Kentucky-themed shoe in October 2024, which sparked excitement throughout the fanbase. Then, Converse announced the return of their iconic demin shoe, which will be returning in the spring or summer of 2026. The actual date is expected to be announced at a later date.

Back in January, Pope said they were working on getting to where the iconic denim uniforms could return. "I’m not really allowed to say this, so it’s just between the two of us: I’m working on it,” Pope said in January. "It’s amazing the red tape that we have to go through to make this happen, but we’re pretty passionate about trying to make that happen. We’ll see what we come up with. It’s definitely on my agenda of things to get accomplished."

Then, in October at the Hoops and Heels event, Pope said the uniforms would be returning in the 2025-26 season. Pope followed that up saying this two days before the St. John's game: "I got to leave that one up to up to suspense. I'm contractually obligated by Nike to continue to dance on that." Fast-forward exactly a week later, and Big Blue Nation got a highly-anticipated gift from Pope and the Wildcats. Many speculated they would bring them back for Pope vs. Pitino this past weekend in Atlanta, but what better way than to bust them out in the place where that title run all started in '96, and against a hated rival?

Denim is coming soon, BBN.